Christmas Inn Love

by Collins, Kelly

  “He might have mentioned the place,” Alex said.

  That didn’t quite match up with the story Rob had told her. The discrepancy made things stranger. As much as she tried to convince herself he differed from Jackson’s father, the fibs sounded familiar. When he arrived, would he be honest?

  “I can do salmon fillets with lemon butter sauce, grilled broccoli, and couscous. Does that work?”

  “Sounds great,” Nicole said. “We’ll unpack and touch base with Rob.”

  As Celia set about preparing the food, she scoured her brain to remember exactly how it went—whether Rob acted like it was a coincidence that his colleagues chose her, or whether he said he’d recommended her inn. She thought he’d invited them to his place, and they’d declined. Rather than dwell on it, she sent a text to Jackson.

  Hi. I’m making salmon for our guests. Do you want any?

  He responded with lightning speed.

  No thanks. I’ll pick up frozen burgers here.

  She wanted to ask him if he’d mentioned the cancellation to Rob but decided against involving him.

  On that note, Lucky bounded toward her. She had forgotten to put him in his crate, and he nosed his way out of the apartment.

  “Come on, boy,” she said in a sweet voice. She put the salmon fillets in a bowl of warm water to thaw and preheated the oven before she let him out back to romp around the yard. Celia drew back the curtains to monitor him.

  Nicole came downstairs and froze. “Is that a dog?”

  “Yes.” The snarky girl who lived inside her wanted to ask, How did you guess? But she didn’t. Pissing off paying guests wouldn’t cover her bills.

  “I’m afraid of dogs.” Nicole did an about face and fled upstairs.

  “Oh, brother,” muttered Celia.

  She slid open the door and Lucky charged inside. Celia guessed the scent of a new person fired him up because he raced up the stairs toward the guests.

  “No, Lucky,” she called after him.

  She grabbed a leash off the hook by the front door and raced after him. She heard a shriek and came upon the dog, who had Nicole pinned down. By the time Celia pulled Lucky away, hair and drool covered Nicole.

  “Come on, buddy,” Celia said, patting her thigh in the upstairs hallway. Lucky docilely obeyed, wagging his hind end. “Did you find a new friend?” she asked in a baby voice.

  “Hey.” Alex stepped into the hall. “Didn’t she just tell you dogs frighten her?”

  “Yes, she did, and I apologize,” said Celia. “We just got him. I’ll keep him in my apartment on the other side of the house.”

  “Looks like a killer, that one.” A flash of humor lit up his eyes.

  Celia dropped her head trying to contain herself. She was on the wrong side of customer service if she found the situation funny. But of all the dogs to fear, Lucky wasn’t the one.

  “I’ll take him downstairs and get back to dinner.”

  She gave Lucky a rawhide and put him in his crate. Maybe it was nerves, she didn’t know, but something wasn’t sitting right about having Rob’s colleagues as guests. It wasn’t the clean break she needed to protect her heart.

  She sent him a text.

  Are you joining your friends for dinner?

  His reply was instantaneous.

  Yes. Should I bring wine?

  Wine and Rob—a volatile mix.

  I’ve got it handled.

  Though she hadn’t planned on dinner, she went all out.

  Celia was in the kitchen when Alex and Nicole came downstairs, which meant Rob was a short distance away. When he knocked, her heart picked up its pace.

  Alex leaned around the corner of the kitchen from the dining room. “Would you like for me to get that?” he asked, already on his way to the door.

  “That would be great.” She went back to working on dinner.

  “Hello.” Rob entered the kitchen.

  Celia was bent over to check the salmon in the oven. She wanted to straighten up, but fish was delicate and easy to ruin.

  “Looks good.”

  Is he flirting?

  She straightened and faced him. Ignoring him was impossible. How could she ignore a handsome man holding a beautiful bouquet?

  Slow and sexy, he whistled. “You in an apron. That’s hot.” He glanced at the flowers. “These are for you.”

  Celia didn’t react to his flirting, but inside she heated to a slow boil.

  “Lovely,” she said. “I’ll put them on the table.”

  “Hey.” He reached out and touched her. “Is it that hard to face me?” He cupped her cheek. “What happened? Should I have not come?”

  She leaned into him and let out a sigh. “Did you ask your friends to book a room and order the works?”

  The question had been forming in her mind since she suspected it, but she didn’t expect to blurt that out.

  “Does it matter?” His thumb caressed her cheek.

  “Yes, because I can’t deal with liars. You could have been straight with me.”

  When he stepped back, his hand fell to his side. She missed his touch.

  “He’s here on business, and yes, I recommended your inn to them.”

  “But you acted surprised when they booked here.”

  “Is that why I haven’t heard from you since our night?” His voice filled with emotion. “You found out I threw business your way?”

  “It’s not okay to lie to me.”

  “I think we have two separate issues here.”

  Her stomach did a flip before she felt that warm squeeze in her heart. How was it possible to be angry and yet so happy to see him?

  “I’ll get dinner on the table. You spend time with your friends.” She pulled the salmon from the oven and plated it. “I’ll come back and check on you all in a while. Usually, after I serve dinner, they are on their own and can help themselves to anything they need.”

  Rob stared at her while she did her best to pretend he wasn’t there making her feel things she had no right to feel.

  “Wow. Now who’s lying?”

  “Excuse me?” Her back was ruler straight.

  “Don’t make this about me and my friends.” He leaned against the counter. “If you and I hadn’t slept together, this moment would have been very different. Don’t talk to me about lies when you’re the biggest offender. You’re not only lying to yourself, but you’re lying to me. This has nothing to do with my suggesting your inn to them and everything to do with you not wanting to open up your mind, your heart, or your inn to new opportunities.”

  “I’m about to hit my busy season which runs from Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day. I didn’t need this.” The lie was acid on her tongue.

  “Your guests canceled because of snow. You said so yourself, but you’re going to tell me when Colorado gets its snowiest, you’re booked solid?” He pushed away from the cabinet.

  “Yep.” She nodded. “They canceled because the snow was unexpected. It blindsided them. They were not prepared for it. Had they come here expecting snow, they would have embraced it. See how that works?”

  Alex peeked in. “Are you guys coming? We’re starving out here.”

  Celia picked up a basket of rolls and shoved them in his hands. “Here’s your starter.”

  Alex shuffled backward into the dining room. “We can wait.”

  Rob continued to argue. “You’re acting this way because you can’t handle the fact that we slept together, and you liked it. It’s not because I had someone rent out your place. Don’t talk to me about lies until you’re honest about how you feel about me.” He looked over her shoulder to the salmon. “Dinner looks good, and I will enjoy it.”

  He made sure she knew their quarrel didn’t rob him of his appetite.

  Celia kept it together long enough to serve them dinner. She left for her apartment and went straight into the bathroom. She ran the water to muffle the sound of her sobs.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Rob

  After the me
al, Rob didn’t talk to Celia. He was glad to have Alex in town because he planned to bury himself in work to take the sting out of the heartache Celia caused him. She was another woman who loathed him because he reminded her of another man. Somehow having a Y chromosome and a penis put him in the wrong.

  The next morning Alex, Nicole, and Rob stood in his dining room.

  “I have to run by the hardware store,” he said after he and Alex looked at plans. “I’m expecting my barn any day.”

  Alex dropped his head, shaking it in disbelief. “I can’t believe you did that for her, man,”

  “It wasn’t for her,” Rob replied, trying to save face. “Okay, it was mostly for her.” Rob and his two guests piled into his huge new truck and rolled into Pinetop.

  “Nicole,” Rob said. “Do me a favor. Before you go antiquing, can you walk ahead of us in the hardware store? I want to see something for myself.”

  Alex and Rob stayed back as Nicole wandered into the store alone. She was an attractive blonde with a Hollywood figure. Sure enough, Scott was by her side, offering his help.

  “Nice,” taunted Rob.

  Scott looked over his shoulder like they had caught him.

  “Morning, or I guess I should say, noon there, Scott,” Rob gloated.

  “Bobby,” Scott said, flustered.

  “Bobby? I’ll have fun teasing you for that,” murmured Alex.

  “Nicole, if you want to hit the stores, there are a few a couple doors down,” said Rob. “But please, hang with us.”

  He continued with Scott. “Did you get my calls?”

  “About plowing the snow for the barn you bought?” Scott asked.

  “Yes,” Rob said. “Are you ignoring me, or have you been busy?”

  “Not particularly busy.”

  “What’s the deal?” he asked. “I haven’t gotten a call back.”

  “We’ve discussed this. You don’t have permits.”

  “For?” asked Rob.

  “The whole harvest thing,” Scott said.

  “Seriously?” Rob looked at Alex and rolled his eyes. “I’m asking you to plow the snow. That’s a yes or a no answer. Tell you what, never mind. I’ll buy a Bobcat, or I’ll get a plow attachment for my truck and do it myself. Does Pinetop pay you for snow removal?”

  “Yes,” Scott answered.

  “Not anymore.” He patted Scott’s shoulder.

  “I’d advise against erecting that structure,” countered Scott.

  “Are you a lawyer, Mr. Carson?” asked Rob. “Or the law?”

  “You’re a big man with your friends there, Bobby,” he said, calling him his childhood name again.

  Alex pointed toward the lumber and walked away.

  Rob dialed the permits department which he’d saved in his contacts and put the call on speakerphone.

  “Hi there, who am I speaking with?” asked Rob with tense civility.

  “Margaret.”

  He covered the phone as though it were a landline receiver.

  “Know a Margaret at town hall?” he asked.

  Scott turned his back.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” he said. “Say, Margaret, I’m calling from Pinetop. My name is Rob McKenna and I have applications for developing a piece of property. I have the permit to put up my home, and I want to erect a barnlike structure on the portion—”

  She cut him off. “You’re sweet with all these permit questions. Until you get approved to convert that property, you don’t need a permit provided a post-construction inspection happens. Do you intend to have livestock in the structure?”

  “No, the only thing I’ll do is have a party,” he said.

  “It’s the harvest festival, Margaret,” Scott called out. “The Miller horse arena caved in and this hot shot bought a building so he could look like a big guy to the town and host our big event.”

  “Who is that?” asked Margaret.

  “That’s Scott Carson,” Rob said.

  “Scott, this is Maggie,” she said. “I didn’t know you were there. I would have just told him to ask you. Scott knows. You don’t need a permit. Same for the fence. Did you ever get that built?”

  “You know, I seem to have hit the same brick wall with that one too,” he said. “Thanks for clearing that up.” He ended the call and turned toward Scott. “I don’t know what hair crawled up your backside, but don’t screw with me like that again.”

  “What a tough guy, McKenna,” Scott said. “Looks like Celia has a type. First Jackson Westbrook and now you. One asshole right after the other.”

  “I think you’re upset because she skipped you. Appears she has a type of asshole she prefers, and you missed the mark,” he said. “Besides the barn coming, I have a helicopter landing. I’d like the pilot to have a place to put the bird down. When can I expect the land cleared?”

  Scott’s jaw clenched. He seemed set off because of the news of the helicopter.

  “Look, I don’t know what your problem is with me,” Rob said, at the end of his tolerance. He was in a bad mood because of Celia and felt burdened by the land development. He had never been one to walk away from a sound deal, but he was over it. If he hadn’t invested and gotten others on board to put their money in, he would have just plunked a for sale sign in the dirt and walked away.

  “I don’t like the way you blow into town and have your way with one of the finest women there is,” countered Scott.

  Rob’s brows lifted. “Yeah,” he goaded. “Since you’ve been working on her since before I got here. Am I right? News flash, store manager, Celia and I just had a couple of dinners because I gave her son some work, and I gave them my mother’s dog. There’s nothing happening. Are you going to plow the snow, or do I have to talk to the owner of this place? While I tell him how unhelpful you are, I just might let it slip that you stalk every woman who steps foot in here.”

  “I’ll send a guy out this afternoon,” he grumbled.

  “And if it snows between now and the time the barn or the copter arrives, I’ll need that service again.” Rob turned on his heel, ready to pick up a few things when he came face to face with Jackson looking at him with a bewildered expression.

  “Did I hear you say there was nothing between you, my mom, and me?”

  “No,” Rob lied. “I mean yes but walk with me so I can explain.” He headed for his designer. “Alex, this is Celia’s son Jackson. Jackson, this is Alex, the guy who’s creating the design for the resort we’re putting in.”

  Jackson let him get so far and then stopped and waited for his answer. “What’s going on?”

  “Scott wasn’t providing me with a service he should have because of my relationship with you and your mom. I had to tell him that so I could get a space cleared for the building I bought for the festival, and I guess the party after the Christmas Parade, if there is one,” Rob explained.

  He’d annoyed Celia because he wasn’t straight with her. Lord only knew how she’d respond to him hurting her son. She could very well make sure no one came to either event since they were being held on his property.

  “Jackson,” he said. “You and I are friends, so I will level with you. I got caught not being straight with your mother. I went against your advice.”

  “What did you do?” the boy asked with concern.

  “I had Alex book a room at her inn because her guests canceled, and she found out. She’s not fond of me right now.”

  “Oh,” said Jackson. “She’s mad because you kept a secret?”

  He knew where the kid was going with this. “It’s not the same as surprising her with a Christmas present,” laughed Rob.

  “Right.”

  He’d hurt her, and that made Rob feel awful too. “I’ll work it out,” he promised. “I screwed up. I thought it was harmless, and it wasn’t, and I should have listened to you.”

  “Thanks for telling me the truth,” said Jackson. “Does that mean you aren’t going away?”

  Like his father, thought Rob. He had another epiph
any. If that was what Jackson thought, then it was what Celia thought too. He’d be another man destined to leave her. While his early instinct was to hightail it out of town, he knew he couldn’t. There was something much bigger than the land deal at stake. The trust of a woman was on the line and he would figure out how to earn it back.

  “I’m here. I have a house and have to figure out what to do with my mother’s place. I’m not going anywhere soon,” he said.

  “And after that?” asked Jackson.

  “We’re friends,” he replied. “I’m up for being friends for life. Okay? What are you doing here in the middle of the day, anyway? Shouldn’t you be in school?”

  “I’m a junior and I have classes till the afternoon and then I go to the grocers. I’m here to get salt for the sidewalks.”

  “Okay,” said Rob. “Are you okay? Are we okay?”

  Rob was certain he’d blown it again. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was hurt that boy. As much as he should back off from Celia, he thought he should clue her in.

  Nicole came back and pulled Alex in another direction through the hardware store. Rob texted Celia.

  We should talk. I had a conversation with Jackson.

  Within seconds, she called. As he answered the phone, he stared at the wall calendar posted at Scott’s customer service station. The festival was in a little over a week, then it would be Thanksgiving, then the Christmas Parade and then Christmas. It would all happen so fast.

  “This is Rob,” he answered as though Celia were a business call.

  “Hi, it’s Celia,” she said. “What happened?”

  He explained, “I'm at the hardware store, and I didn't know he was here. Scott let me know I was not good enough for you, and while assuring him that there was nothing between us, and I was here on business, Jackson overheard and assumed I was leaving.”

  “What did you say to him?” she asked.

  “I told him I had no problem being friends for life, and I meant it. I wanted to let you know, so it didn’t seem like I was hiding anything, and so you could make sure he’s okay,” he said.

  “I’ll find him. He should be at work by now,” she said. “Thanks for telling me.”